The Luxe

In a world of ostentation and subterfuge, where appearance matters above everything and breaking the social code means running the risk of being ostracized forever, six socially precocious turn-of-the-(twentieth)-century teenagers lead dangerously scandalous lives. The Luxe opens at the funeral of Elizabeth Holland, the apple of everyone in Manhattan society s eye then flashes back to show the events leading up to that day. Elizabeth comes from a family of good breeding, is beautiful, smart and kind. But her widowed mother is hiding a secret that could ruin them all - the family is on the brink of financial ruin and unless Liz marries soon, they ll sink for sure. Her mother thinks Henry Schoonmaker is the perfect match, as does Henry s father, who intends to run for office and can t have his playboy son embarrassing him any further. Little do the parents know that Henry is involved with Liz s best friend (so close it s hard to tell the difference between love and hate sometimes), Penelope, and that Liz herself is secretly in love with Will, a family servant she s practically grown up with. Will wants to run away to the west. But Liz can t leave her family for certain destruction. Can she? A secret rendezvous meant to help her make up her mind, leads to her own ruin when her carriage turns over, turning her over into the East River. Her body is never recovered and all of Manhattan is mourning. But has Liz ascended to heaven or gone to an even better place-?

In a world of ostentation and subterfuge, where appearance matters above everything and breaking the social code means running the risk of being ostracized forever, six socially precocious turn-of-the-(twentieth)-century teenagers lead dangerously scandalous lives. The Luxe opens at the funeral of Elizabeth Holland, the apple of everyone in Manhattan society s eye then flashes back to show the events leading up to that day. Elizabeth comes from a family of good breeding, is beautiful, smart and kind. But her widowed mother is hiding a secret that could ruin them all - the family is on the brink of financial ruin and unless Liz marries soon, they ll sink for sure. Her mother thinks Henry Schoonmaker is the perfect match, as does Henry s father, who intends to run for office and can t have his playboy son embarrassing him any further. Little do the parents know that Henry is involved with Liz s best friend (so close it s hard to tell the difference between love and hate sometimes), Penelope, and that Liz herself is secretly in love with Will, a family servant she s practically grown up with. Will wants to run away to the west. But Liz can t leave her family for certain destruction. Can she? A secret rendezvous meant to help her make up her mind, leads to her own ruin when her carriage turns over, turning her over into the East River. Her body is never recovered and all of Manhattan is mourning. But has Liz ascended to heaven or gone to an even better place-?